This invention relates generally to water purification and more particularly, to a novel method and apparatus for removing dissolved contaminants from a contaminated water supply with electrically powered immersion electrodes.
Distillation has long been a commonly employed technique for water purification by removing a broad range of impurities from a contaminated water supply. In doing so, the raw water supply, including ordinary potable tap water, is boiled in a first container for its separation from the contaminated water supply and the purified water vapor thereafter recondensed to the liquid state, generally in a separate second container or vessel. Electrical heating of the contaminated water supply is also well known with resistive type immersion electrodes being employed. While water purity as measured by specific electrical resistance up to 2 megohm-centimeters can be produced in this manner, eventual precipitation of contaminants in the boiling vessel takes place requiring frequent cleaning to restore operating efficiency. The precipitated solids which accumulate on the resistive electrodes being employed have to be removed causing frequent disassembly of the overall apparatus.
It remains desirable, therefore, to provide still more effective means whereby contaminants can be removed from a contaminated water supply employing distillation while not further requiring elaborate modification of the now commonly employed method and apparatus for doing so.
It is an important object of the present invention to provide novel immersion electrode means for improved water purification.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a distillation a apparatus employing such novel immersion electrode means for more effective removal of contaminants from a contaminated water supply.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a novel method for the removal of contaminants from a contaminated water supply which employs the present electrode means.
These and further objects of the present invention will become more apparent upon considering the following detailed description of the present invention.